MODERN BUILDER VAULT
Cobra
Guitars
BY CHRIS KIES
Eli Apollo, a veteran gigging guitarist in
New York City, had dropped off a Strat at
30th Street Guitars for a setup. When he
got the guitar back, Apollo realized it was
talking to him like no other axe had before
with “strings that had a spongy feel and
were super-easy to play.” He asked who
had done the setup and was introduced to
a man named Cobra (Jimmy Carbonetti).
After commissioning two relic jobs—a ’ 57
Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Junior reissue
and a Fender Custom Shop Tele—Apollo
approached Cobra with an idea. The result
was the formation of Cobra Guitars.
So it was only natural for Cobra Guitars—
launched in early 2010 by Cobra and
Apollo—to specialize in relic’d, worn-and-torn guitars. Thus far, Cobra has tackled four
of his favorite “old-timey” models. “I had
experience building and relic’ing Strats and
Teles,” he says, “so building our own versions was a natural starting point for Cobra
guitars.” In addition, they’ve introduced a
model reminiscent of a Les Paul Junior and
another guitar inspired by the relatively
obscure Fender Starcaster.
“I put all my love and passion into each
guitar, spending hours making it feel, sound,
and look perfect to me,” says Cobra. “It
starts with shaping the neck to feel just right,
then painting it. After the lacquer dries, I
begin hours of hand rubbing, chipping, and
mixing up dyes to get that real dirty, I’ve-been-played-in-nasty-smoke-filled-dive-bars-around-the-world-soaking-up-whiskey attitude, feel, and look that ultimately creates
an aesthetically pleasing, incredible feeling,
kick-ass sounding instrument.”
Old Friend
The newest Cobra model was finished just before print time, so we had to
include it. Reminiscent of a ’50s Les Paul Junior TV model, the Old Friend
is intended to honor New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders. The double-cut mahogany body has a relic’d TV yellow nitrocellulose finish and is
loaded with a single Lollar P- 90. The Old Friend features a 24 3/4" maple
neck with a rosewood fretboard set with 6100 frets.
264 PREMIER GUITAR NOVEMBER 2010
www.premierguitar.com
